CMA Awards 2012 Crowd ‘Blown Away’ by Carrie Underwood Performance

Carrie Underwood showed off the voice that made her an 'American Idol' champion and one of the biggest stars in music during a powerful performance of 'Blown Away' at the 2012 CMA Awards, which ended with raucous applause after Underwood held her final note for several seconds after the music stopped.

'Blown Away,' currently the No. 2 song in the nation, was written by the team songwriting team that created 'Before He Cheats,' and it packs the same emotional punch -- especially in a live setting. The CMAs co-host roared the booming chorus, "Shatter every window 'til it’s all blown away / Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away / 'Til there’s nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday / Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away."

Near the end, the wind machines were cranked up and confetti flew through the air -- a fitting scene given the song title. Underwood polished off the song by holding that last note for what felt like forever. She appeared to surprise even herself with that one, as she mouthed "Wow!" after finishing.

Regardless of the fact that Underwood didn't snag Female Vocalist of the Year later in the show, she's already showed her worth for the award with her 'Blown Away' performance.